All Things White Chocolate

I'm still plugging away at my list of make ahead treats for this weekend's parties.  I like to make all of the white chocolate treats at the same time so that I only have to be standing over a double boiler once.  One of the standout treats on my Halloween buffet that consistently gets oohs and aahs is my Peanut Butter Eyeballs.  !Warning! This is a diet busting recipe.  They are peanut butter balls, dipped in white chocolate, and decorated to look like bloodshot eyes.

Start with 1 stick butter at room temperature.  Cream that together with 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter.  Beat in 1 lb(that's right a whole pound) confectioner's sugar and 1 tbsp vanilla. 

Form into balls.  The batter will appear crumbly, but the heat from your hands will help to form the balls.  Freeze peanut butter balls on wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Make sure they are really frozen solid.

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler, or if you don't have one, in a glass bowl over a small sauce pan of simmering water.  It will take about 12 oz to cover the pb balls, but I melt down way more because I use it for other treats. *Make sure to not get any water into the chocolate, because it will seize and become unworkable.*

When the chocolate is melted, spear pb balls with toothpicks or skewers and dip partway into the chocolate, leaving enough peanut butter showing to be the brown iris of the eye.  Place back on the wax paper. 

You need to work quickly, because when the peanut butter balls soften up, they'll fall off of the toothpicks. You may need to occasionally place the tray back into the freezer.  I like to use 2 trays, alternating between one in the freezer and one that I'm working with.  That way there are always frozen balls to work with. 

When the chocolate has hardened and the peanut butter has softened, pull out the toothpick.  Place a mini chocolate chip into the hole left by the toothpick.  This is your eye's pupil.

This is the stopping point for make ahead eyeballs.  Squiggle some red decorating gel onto the eyeballs to simulate bloodshot eyes within an hour of serving.  The gel can get gummy which will cause the eyeballs to stick together if you do this step ahead of time.  You can store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week or however long it takes for them to disappear.

Not one to waste chocolate, I use the leftover melted chocolate to pipe out other treats.  I made spiderwebs to top cupcakes with.

And to use it all up, I made some freeform ghost lollipops with chocolate chip eyes.

I meant to post this eyeball tutorial much earlier today, but my BFF came over with a couple yards of fabric and trim for me to turn into a costume.  She's going to be a genie.  You'll see the costume when I post pics from the party.

Thanks for popping into my kitchen today and check out what everyone else is up to at Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff and Fireflies and Jellybeans's Show off Your Stuff parties.